On this page
- How much of a house price in Embrach lies in the building?
- Which invoices reduce property gains tax in Embrach?
- What remains in Embrach when you move from a house to a flat?
- Is there a value capture levy in Embrach?
- What matters in Embrach besides the price?
- Estate agent in Embrach
- Frequently asked questions
- Nearby
Suppose you converted the attic twelve years ago and later added a conservatory. The invoices are in a folder in the cellar. When you sell in Embrach, exactly these papers can count twice.
Once for the price, because here much of a house’s value rests on the building itself. And once for the tax, because investments that add value reduce the taxable gain. Without receipts, both become hard.
How much of a house price in Embrach belongs to the building?
Worked example
Worked example, Embrach: flat, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Embrach median for condominiums, without investments or costs. In 2007 there were only 13 house sales, too few for a median.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 927,500
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 495,000
- Property gain
- CHF 432,500
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 162,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 71,456
- Property gains tax
- CHF 90,944
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 836,556
How much of a house price in Embrach lies in the building?
Roughly speaking, more than half. In 2025 a house cost a median of CHF 4,036 per square metre of plot, building included.2 The cantonal model puts bare residential building land at CHF 1,415 per square metre.9 Typical model values range from CHF 998 to CHF 1,996.
Arithmetically, the gap between the two figures stands for the building. One figure comes from sales, the other from a model. So the comparison is not exact, but it shows the direction. In Embrach the house itself shapes the price strongly, not only the land beneath it.
What this means for you: year of construction, condition, fit-out and improvements belong in every valuation, with receipts. Two houses on equal plots can be far apart. One may have new building services, the other may be in its original state. A good valuation shows land and building separately.
Which invoices reduce property gains tax in Embrach?
Only investments that add value, meaning the house is worth more afterwards. An extension, a converted attic or a conservatory count.1 Pure upkeep does not, such as a fresh coat of paint or replacing a broken appliance. Where the line falls in an individual case is assessed by the municipal tax office.
In the median example the flat costs CHF 495,000 in 2007 and CHF 927,500 in 2025. Of the gain of CHF 432,500, the tax takes 21 per cent, or CHF 90,944.1 Every documented investment reduces this gain. After 20 full years of ownership it would be CHF 81,200 on the same gain.
Without a receipt an investment is hard to prove, even if anyone can see it. What this means for you: collect invoices, contracts with tradespeople and plans before you name a price. They support the price with buyers and the gain with the tax office.
| Indicator | Embrach | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (18 sales) | CHF 1,583,650 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (40 sales) | CHF 927,500 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (22 / 39 sales) | CHF 1,077,500 / CHF 619,000 | 2015 |
| House per m² of plot / building land per m² (model) | CHF 4,036 / CHF 1,415 | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 10,408, of whom 1,855 (17.8%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 112% / 207% | 2026 |
| Train from Embrach-Rorbas to Zürich HB | from 32 minutes (S 41, 1 change) | timetable October 2026 |
| Municipal value capture levy | 25% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force since 14.10.2022 |
What remains in Embrach when you move from a house to a flat?
In the median comparison, a lot of capital, before tax and costs. In 2025 a house cost a median of CHF 1,583,650, a flat CHF 927,500.2 The gap is CHF 656,150. A house here costs 1.7 times as much as a flat, across the canton 1.3 times.
The tax can be deferred if you lived in the house and buy another owner-occupied home in Switzerland.1 If it costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxable at once.10 If it costs no more than the house’s purchase price plus investments, nothing is deferred at all.10
An example with medians, without investments. Someone who bought a house for CHF 1,077,500 in 2015 and buys a flat for CHF 927,500 today would get no deferral. The flat costs less than the house did back then. And deferred does not mean waived. What this means for you: work out the deferral with your own figures before you count on it.
Is there a value capture levy in Embrach?
Yes, since 14 October 2022. Embrach charges 25 per cent of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000.6 If a plot is smaller than 2,000 square metres, it normally does not apply.6 Only the gain in value from upzoning or rezoning is meant, that is, when more may now be built.
The bill only comes with development, not with the sale.8 If the plot passes to someone else first, the obligation passes to the buyer. So it also belongs in the sale contract.7
What matters in Embrach besides the price?
Embrach-Rorbas station has two names but lies on Embrach land. From there the S 41 runs to Bülach; with one change you reach Zürich HB from 32 minutes.5 In Embrach, 17.8 per cent of the population are 65 or older, 1,855 of 10,408 people.4
Embrach taxes income and wealth at 112 per cent, 207 per cent together with the canton.3 In Bülach you would pay about 1 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax, in Kloten about 6 per cent less.
I look at your house and your receipts, separate land and building and calculate tax and net proceeds with your own figures. Without sales pressure.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Embrach
Selling in Embrach with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Embrach. Through all four phases you have one contact person: me, Dominik Devaja, managing director of Immosmile. You pay nothing beforehand. Our fee falls due only when you sign the contract at the notary (Beurkundung).
-
Clarity
Independent valuation, net calculation after taxes and costs, a look at what comes after. You decide on figures, not on hearsay.
-
Preview
Before anyone sees your house, film, photography and exposé are produced. Then we show it to vetted buyers first – not yet on the portals.
-
Market decision
You receive the demand report and every offer immediately. Then you choose the path to the best price: accept, bidding round – or the broad public phase on the portals, the normal case.
-
Completion & move
Notary appointment, key handover, documents for what comes after – and, if you wish, guidance into your next home. Our fee only falls due now, with the notarised deed.
The full process in detail What is your property in Embrach worth?
What else do owners in Embrach ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Embrach?
Check whether an agent looks closely at the building rather than just counting square metres. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. Ask for a valuation that separates land and building and a net calculation using your receipts. Offers are best compared using the 12 checking questions.
Does a new heating system count for property gains tax?
Only investments that add value can be deducted, not ordinary maintenance. Whether a new heating system counts in full, in part or not at all is assessed case by case by the municipal tax office. Keep the quote, the invoice and a description of the work.
When is the property gains tax return due?
Within 30 days of the transfer, you file the property gains tax return with the Embrach municipal tax office. An extension is possible if you ask for one.
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 216(3)(i), 219, 221, 225, 226 (Nachtrag 132), in German · as of 1.4.2026, retrieved 15.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: Freihandverkäufe von Immobilien inkl. Medianpreisen seit 2007 (KTZH_00000077) · data as of 2025/Q4, 2023–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Statistical Office: municipal tax rates 2026, in German · as of 24.03.2026, final
- Canton of Zurich, Statistical Office: population by municipality and age (KTZH_00000254) · year 2025, retrieved 14.10.2026
- SBB online timetable: Embrach-Rorbas – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 15.10.2026 for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Municipality of Embrach: building and zoning regulations, art. 52 «Erhebung einer Mehrwertabgabe», in German · in force since 14.10.2022, retrieved 15.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 6, 19, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Value Capture Ordinance of the Canton of Zurich (MAV, LS 700.91), § 21, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: property prices in the Canton of Zurich (KTZH_00003158), residential building land, model value per municipality in CHF/m², in German · data as of 2025/Q4, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Cantonal Tax Office Zurich: Zurich tax manual no. 216.3, replacement purchase, paras 19–25, in German · as of 1.2.2018, retrieved 29.09.2026
- Government Council, Canton of Zurich: RRB No. 42/2026, cantonal tax rate 2026 (95%), in German · dated 14.01.2026
General information without guarantee, not individual advice. The law, the tax assessment and advice from professionals for your situation are what count. Terms of use
